A federal high court in Abuja has sacked 20 members of the Cross River state house of assembly for defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Justice Taiwo Taiwo in his judgement on Monday held that the lawmakers needed to vacate their seats since they had abandoned the party which brought them to power.
The judgement followed a suit filed by the PDP marked FHC/ABJ.
This is coming weeks after a federal high court sitting in Abuja sacked 16 members of the Ebonyi state house of assembly who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
David Umahi, the state governor and his deputy, had in November 2020 left the PDP and joined the APC.
Umahi had attributed his defection to the “injustice” done to the south-east.
The lawmakers on November 17, 2020, joined Umahi and Eric Igwe, deputy governor, to move over to the APC.
The court, in its judgment, held that the legislators could not transfer the mandate they received from the ballot to another political party after abandoning the political party that had sponsored them.
Inyang Ekwo, the judge, held that the defendants who were elected into the house of assembly on the platform of the PDP could not justify their defection when there was no division in the PDP.
It held that section 109(1) (g) of the 1999 constitution was purposely created to ensure that defectors were not allowed to retain their seats in the house, unless such defectors are able to justify their action.
He restrained them from further parading themselves or acting as members of Ebonyi state assembly.
